Welcome to this week's issue of Sources
Hotlink. This week we cover the threats faced by many journalists who
cover stories focused in the Middle-East and Latin America from rebel
groups and autocratic regimes. We also highlight two works including the
Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff and the recently released film Kill the Messenger.

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Media and Journalism news and analysis

Featured Articles on Sources.com

The Death of a Reporter

My twitter feed has become a memorial for the death of
journalists from Iraq to Turkey. The latest tragedy was the death of
Serena Shim, a US citizen who is of Lebanese origin and worked for Press
TV. Last year I had met Serena in Beirut. It is commonplace for
journalists to meet each other, to learn where one has been and whether
there are stories out there that help give wider context and
confirmation for stories that one follows. It was in that context that I
met Serena, who had been covering the conflict in Ukraine, Iraq and of
course Lebanon. She was a warm person, very smart and very well
informed. Her bravery impressed me. Others of her ilk and of her age
bracket include the fabulous Radwan Mortada (al-Akhbar) and Jenan Moussa
(al-Ain). These are reporters who go into dangerous situations with no
“security advisors” – I worry for them daily. Read more

Saudi Arabia: Imprisoned editor Raef Badawi to be flogged 1,000 times

Raef Badawi was arrested on 17 June 2012 in Jeddah after
organising a conference to mark a “day of liberalism”. The conference,
which was to have taken place in Jeddah on 7 May, was banned by the
authorities. On 29 July 2013, a court in Jeddah sentenced Badawi to
seven years and three months in prison and 600 lashes after he was
convicted under the information technology law of “founding a liberal
website,” “adopting liberal thought” and for “insulting Islam”. The
online forum, Liberal Saudi Network – created to foster political and
social debate in Saudi Arabia – was ordered closed by the judge.

According to reports, the appeal, submitted by Badawi’s lawyer,
Walid Abu al-Khair, cited procedural and evidential reasons why the
conviction should be overturned and Badawi should be freed. In December
2013, it was reported that the Court of Appeal had reversed the ruling
of the District Court in Jeddah, ordering that Badawi’s case be sent for
review by another court. Badawi, who suffers from diabetes, is reported
to be in poor health. Read more

The Comic Book Simplicity Of Propaganda

The referendum campaign on Scottish independence heightened many
people's awareness of the pro-elite bias of the 'mainstream' news media.
The grassroots power of social media in exposing and countering this
bias was heartening to see. But the issue of independence for Scotland
is just one of many where the traditional media consistently favour
establishment power. The essential feature of corporate media
performance is that elite interests are routinely favoured and
protected, while serious public dissent is minimised and marginalised.
The BBC, the biggest and arguably the most globally respected news
organisation, is far from being an exception. Indeed, on any issue that
matters, its consistently biased news coverage - propped up, by a
horrible irony, with the financial support of the public whose interests
it so often crushes - means that BBC News is surely the most insidious
propaganda outlet today.Read more

PEN Honduras appeals to Supreme Court in final attempt to halt ban on practising journalism

Journalist and founding member of PEN Honduras, Julio Ernesto Alvarado,
is today appearing along with other journalists and PEN Honduras
members before the Constitutional Section of the Supreme Court of the
country in a final attempt to fight the reinstatement of a 16-month ban
on practising journalism. This action, known in Spanish as an Amparo, is a remedy for the protection of constitutional rights where all other routes of appeal have been exhausted.

On 9 October 2014, Mr Alvarado’s lawyer submitted an application for
the implementation of the ruling to be suspended pending review by the
Constitutional Section of the Supreme Court of Justice (la Sala de lo Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia).
Procedure dictates that Mr Alvarado’s lawyer should have received a
response to this submission within 24 hours, however, more than a week
later she has yet to receive a response. In addition, she has been
informed that the plaintiff’s lawyer has already requested the file to
be returned to the court where the case began, suggesting that the
judgment is imminently due to be enforced. Read more

Recent News Releases

IFJ Calls on Korean Government to Reinstate Dismissed YTN and MBC Journalists

October
20th – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its
Korean affiliate, the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK) to express
its continued anger at the case of the reporters who have been
dismissed from YTN and MBC - a case which has remained unresolved for
many years. The JAK has stated that it is "painful" to watch these
highly respected Korean journalists suffer unfair dismissal from the
organisations to which they showed so much dedication and commitment.
The IFJ strongly demands that Korea's Park Geun-hye government, which
has been expressing its determination to “normalise the abnormal” and
“bring national unity,” acts immediately to reinstate the sacked
journalists. Read more

Ethiopia Should Free Journalists from Jail and Exile

The
Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the Africa regional group of
the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has called on the
Ethiopia Government to free all journalists jailed and to allow the
exiled journalists to come back and work for the mother country,
Ethiopia.

The FAJ made this call while mourning the untimely
death of exiled Ethiopian journalist, Million Shurube, who passed away
at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi (Kenya), on Monday, 13
October, 2014 after a brief illness.

“We offer our heartfelt sympathies to the family of
Shurube and the entire journalists’ fraternity in Ethiopia”, said the
President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), Mohamed Garba.
“Such situations are difficult for every family, most especially when
one reflects on the fact that Shurube was forced into exile because of
his job and his right to freedom of expression”. Read more

Supreme Court of Pakistan to indict TV chief and anchor for contempt

The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Pakistan
Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in expressing deep concern over the
legal course against ARY News channel’s CEO and its anchor over a
broadcasting of a program that challenged Pakistan’s judiciary. The
Supreme Court of Pakistan on October 13 decided to prosecute the chief
executive of the private television network, Salman Iqbal, and the
program anchor, Mubashir Lucman, indicting them for airing ‘scandalous
and defamatory programs against the judiciary’. According to reports, a
three-judge bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal observed that a talk on
ARY ‘Khara Such’ aired on May 29, 2014 and the reply submitted by the
channel on ‘show cause’ notice had enough ground to initiate contempt of
court proceedings. Read more

Self-censorship concerns in Hong Kong after bashing of journalist and protesters

The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned that
Hong Kong police beat up a journalist and brutally attacked a
pro-democracy protester while breaking up a demonstration. With pressure
mounting on media in its coverage of the Occupy protests, the IFJ has
expressed reservations on press freedoms with reports that Hong Kong’s
largest free-to-air television station, TVB, is suspected of
self-censoring its report on the treatment of the protestor.

In the early hours of October 15,
hundreds of Hong Kong police used pepper spray and batons to evict
democracy protesters from Lung Wo Road, Admiralty. The protestors
occupied the road after police cleared them out of other areas in the
Admiralty district. The use of force triggered scuffles between police
and protesters. Read more

Getting Publicity: Connecting journalists and news makers

What is Public Relations?

Public relations is an often-misunderstood term in modern business.

While
most business people are generally quite familiar with advertising (the
granddaddy of marketing communications) public relations remains
relatively misunderstood.

Therefore,
many of those responsible for initiating or procuring public relations
services, do not fully understand the power of public relations and what
it can accomplish for them.

Public
relations is the communication that takes place between an organization
and its numerous “publics” or audiences, both internal and external.
Hence, it is far more than just publicity as in generating ink or
airtime for a celebrity or, in the political arena, the “spin doctoring”
that’s done to convert bad press into good. Read more

What Makes a Good Story?

Reporters
- and readers - want a good story. The story should be interesting and
relevant to the audience, and it must be written clearly enough that it
can be quickly and easily understood. What makes a story interesting is
often a combination of the interests of the audience, the interests and
abilities of the reporter, and a long history of journalistic tradition.

The
question "What is news?" is a primary philosophical issue in media
relations. Many people are indifferent to sports, for example, yet it
constitutes a major part of mainstream news. Every television and radio
station devotes extensive time to weather, even though it is usually
straightforward and it all comes from the same place. Nevertheless,
without getting into that debate, we can identify a number of elements
that characterize a good news story.Read more

Public relations at a trade show: A little effort goes a long way

Is
public relations just for big companies at large shows that have a
dedicated PR consultant? When Steve Jobs or Bill Gates speaks, everyone
listens, but don't let the size of their budget discourage you. The
media is constantly on the look-out for interesting stories, and not
just the ones everyone else is covering. So, being big is not the
panacea to PR; being prepared with a well thought-out plan is. Trade
shows are a great place to initiate a PR campaign. Whether it is the
major news outlets that will attend large international shows or
regional publications, cable or local media at a regional or community
show, the media will be there. Read more

Canadian
health care has had a long and interesting development. This trend
continues today with changes designed to tackle an aging population and
financial constraints. Sources provides experts, media spokespersons,
and a wide range of resources on health-related issues at Sources.com, so you can follow and understand the changes to your health care system. Also visit Sources linkes on health and medicare. Read more

Lakoff
explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments.
He outlines in detail the traditional values that progressives hold, but
are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in
which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how
progressives can reframe the debate. Read more

Kill the Messenger is an account of investigative journalist Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" reports, and the criticism and consequences of Webb's reports. The reports had alleged a link between the 1980s crack cocaine trade in the United States and the CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras. Read more

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